Four Steps to a Tasty, Slimming Winter Salad

This time of year, when many people are focused on weight loss, a salad seems to be the number one meal of choice. While it seems healthy enough, you probably already know that when they are laden with lots of fatty toppings, they can actually have more calories than a juicy cheeseburger...

…So to help you build a salad that you can feel good about, but won’t just be rabbit food, I have created a few steps for choosing the ingredients and building a tasty, slimming salad.

Adding protein to your salad is important as it will give your salad more staying power and make it a complete meal. So pick one lean protein, such as:

Lean beef, poultry, or pork, 3-5 ounces (about the size of a deck or cards or the palm of your hand)

Fish, 5-6 ounces (about the length of a check book)

1 Hardboiled Egg

1/2 cup lentils or beans

Having some fat on your salad is not a bad thing. In fact, fat on your salad will not only help you stay fuller, longer, it will also help you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins found in the veggies on your salad. Just limit yourself to two fats below per salad and be mindful of the portion-sizes:

4 large black or green olives

2 tbsp. nuts

1 tbsp. seeds: sesame, sunflower, flax, pumpkin

1/4 of a large avocado

1 tbsp. salad dressing (your best bet is to make your own salad dressing with oil and vinegar or stick to light vinaigrette or yogurt-based versions from the store)

1 slice bacon

2 tbsp. cheese

And then just for fun and flavor, add one “extra” item from the list below:

1/4 cup salsa

2 tbsp. dried fruit: raisins, cranberries, cherries

1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit or berries

2 tbsp. nonfat plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese

1 tbsp. hummus

2 tbsp. croutons

4 large tortilla chips, crushed

1/4 cup corn

Now, you will be able to approach the salad bar with confidence and build a salad that will actually help (and not hurt) you reach your goals.